Beautiful Stranger
by Hecatemoon
Summary: a new girl comes to sunnydale and falls for spike, she has a secret and changes him, literally. !Please review, I'm a first timer, Be gentle!! COMPLETE! Whew! I finally finished it! Hope you all like!
1. The Drive

Beautiful stranger  
  
   
  
By  
  
   
  
Hecatemoon  
  
 Disclaimer: I made up Avalon, and dr. Martin. Everyone else is the property of Joss .  
  
  
  
   
  
" Tell me again why it is you drug me out of Las Vegas to bring to sunnydale dad?" The girl looked at him with curious distain. Once again she was being uprooted for their benefit.  
  
" I told you, I'm getting a lot of money to be their head Neurosurgeon, and I was able to get you into a college that has accreditation. Lucky for you they have know idea what you did last time." He was in his late fifties, with silver hair and small glasses on the end of his nose. Dr. Martin Styles was the best neurosurgeon on the west coast, and so far had been able to keep his daughters secret, but she made it hard.  
  
" That was not my fault! And you said he asked for it. Besides, he won't ever do that to a woman again." She sat back in the front seat of the car, looking out the window. She noticed as they came into this sleepy little town that it seemed very peaceful. It was almost creepy.  
  
" Avalon, you know better than that! Anytime you use your power like that you become more like your mother, less like a girl. Please, don't make me banish you like I had to do to her!" He was flustered and on the verge of tears, so she let it drop. They pulled into a parking lot and he got out of the car.  
  
" I'm going into the realtor's office. If you want, look around, and I'll call you when I'm through." He looked at her for a moment. She was all he had left of his love.  
  
" Ok daddy. I'm sorry. For everything." Avalon looked at him with her unnatural black eyes. She fluffed her platinum blonde hair and got out of the car.  
  
She looked around the street, and focusing on a magic shop went in for a peek.  
  
The magic box was bustling as usual. Anya and Xander were taking inventory while Tara and willow worked on a new spell. The door opened and Avalon walked in. Behind the counter, Anya lifted her head from an inventory list.  
  
" There's a demon in here. Xander, did you hear me?" Anya tugged at his shirt, but his attention was elsewhere. He was starring at a very attractive woman in the store.  
  
" Yes hon., a demon. What? " He looked at Anya pointing at the girl.  
  
"Her? An, no way. She's too pretty to be a demon. Demons are all ugly and nasty. Except you! You were always pretty." Xander said as he tried to recover from the hits to the stomach that he received. The girl walked over to the counter and smiled at them.  
  
" Hi! I was wondering, do you have any Sumerian Ice crystals? I know they're hard to come by." She smiled at the couple behind the counter. The girl seemed familiar.  
  
" No, we don't serve our kind here." Anya was very nasty to this girl.  
  
" Our kind? Um, ok. What kind might that be? Pretty?" The girl laughed. She extended her hand out.  
  
" I'm Avalon styles. I just moved here. And you are?" She was looking at Anya.  
  
" That doesn't matter. You have to go. Now. Run and don't come back!" Avalon backed away from the counter. Xander grabbed Anya and asked her what was wrong.  
  
" What are you doing? What's wrong with you?" Xander began to apologize to Avalon.  
  
" Sorry, she's just stressed out right now. We're getting married." Xander was very proud looking.  
  
" That's wonderful. I understand. She understands too. Don't worry, I can control it. Really." Avalon looked at Anya and they exchanged a meaningful look.  
  
" Look the sun's gone down. Can we walk you home? It's not safe out there. Right Anya?" Xander looked at his fiancé and smiled.  
  
" She doesn't need our protection. Trust me. " Anya was still suspicious.  
  
" Well, if you can get those crystals for me, that would be great. Have a nice day!" Avalon left Xander stunned at anya's behavior, and Anya angry and scared.  
  
After the girl left Xander questioned his girlfriend.  
  
" You wanna share with the whole class what's going on? "  
  
" She's a fire demon. At least part of her is. They are ok until they get mad, then POOF! She lights men on fire. A Bad fire, that burns their souls forever. It can never be put out. On a demon scale she made me look like spike in the harming department." Anya put her arms around Xander.  
  
" We need to tell buffy about this. "  
  
Buffy walked out of the house ready for patrolling. She was so frustrated! Spike! He was everywhere! Outside her house, the shop, the bronze. If she didn't get him out of her head soon, she was going to go crazy! She wandered down the street to the park. She noticed a girl sitting alone on the bench near the swings. Hmm, buffy thought. Not a very smart girl. Suddenly the pang in her stomach started. From the bushes, a vampire jumped out and grabbed the girl. Buffy started over there, but just then, spike came up and went for the vamp. Now he's doing my job!! Why???? Buffy was fed up! She charged into the fray. The vampire drug the girl into the bushes and spike followed. Suddenly, he came flying out of the bushes and tackled buffy.  
  
" What are you doing?"Buffy snapped.  
  
A large ball of fire shot up from behind the bushes. The vampire became dust but there was this small ball of flames hovering in the air. Buffy pushed spike off her and went behind the bushes and saw the blonde girl standing there, smiling.  
  
" Are you ok?" Buffy asked her.  
  
" Yeah, did you see that?" the girl asked hesitantly.  
  
" I saw something. What happened?" Buffy was looking at this girl. She had just been attacked, but she was totally calm.  
  
" Nothing. He, he caught on fire. Very strange." The girl looked at her feet.  
  
" You set him on fire! " Spike came up on buffy's side and looked at the girl. Blonde hair, small waist. Nice chest, quite the little package.  
  
" Spike, what are you saying?" Buffy looked at him like he was crazy.  
  
" I'm saying that she chanted, looked at him, and now that is all that's left of him." Spike said.  
  
" I did. But please, it's not what you think. He was a vampire." The girl stammered.  
  
" You know what he was? How?" Buffy was intrigued. This was a whole new ballgame now.  
  
" They always go for me. They can feel me. Ask your friend, he can feel me too." She looked at Spike.  
  
"My name is Avalon, Avalon Styles. You must be the slayer. "  
  
Buffy was surprised. " Yeah, how did you know?" She was nervous, but this girl didn't seem dangerous.  
  
" I used to run in circles that knew you. I heard your good. Best slayer yet." Avalon smiled.  
  
" So, what did you do to that guy, exactly?" Buffy asked.  
  
" I burned him up and his soul will burn for eternity." Avalon said very matter of factly. She stepped up to spike and looked him in the eye.  
  
" So, why are you helping the Slayer. Are you sick, or broken?" Spike backed away.  
  
" I'm fine, she needs me' help is all." He huffed.  
  
Buffy laughed. " He's broken. The government put a chip in his brain. He can't harm any humans. Go ahead, hit him." Spike looked at Buffy with horror in his eyes.  
  
" I am not a joke! I am William the Bloody! " He yelled.  
  
" Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you. I wouldn't hurt the defenseless anyway.  
  
I'm not that kind of girl. I think you know what kind of girl I really am." She looked into his eyes. Suddenly, he understood.  
  
" Well then, Buffy. Off with you now, patrolling and all. I'll walk the lady home." Spike bowed in front of Avalon.  
  
" What? Oh no, why don't we all go to the shop, we can talk there. " Buffy was strangely hurt by him. Why? If this girl wanted to be stalked by spike so be it. But she felt jealous.  
  
" What kind of girl are you?" Buffy asked, a little too sharp for her taste.  
  
" Well, since you're the slayer, I guess I could tell you. I'm part fire demon. When I get angry, I can cause fires. But ask William about it. He knew my grandmother. Didn't you?" 


	2. Spike

Chapter 2  
  
Avalon starred at the blonde vamp intensely. He suddenly looked away.  
  
" Did I? Hmm, I don't rightly remember. Well, I must be off. " Spike started to walk away, but buffy caught him.  
  
" What does she mean? What's going on here?" Buffy grabbed him and began to punch him in the nose.  
  
" You know, I never get tired of this! Talk spike! Now!" Buffy stopped and spike wimpered.  
  
" OK! I did a little tickle tickle with the old bird! So?" He sat on the curb of the street they had been walking on and wiped his bleeding nose.  
  
" Is that true?" Buffy was hurt and sick at the same time.  
  
" Yep. It caused a huge fight with my grandfather. She burnt him up in front of me. But she was always doing that. Any man she could. See, with hybrids, you don't have to summon us. And like kind can feel us from miles away. He felt me. You felt me. The girl in the magic shop definitely felt me. I try to cloak it, but.. Well, sometimes it just comes through. But I'm not dangerous, I swear." Avalon noticed that they were close to the magic shop.  
  
" Are we going in there?" She asked buffy.  
  
" Yeah my friends own it. My watcher used to run it." Buffy replied.  
  
" oh. Maybe I should go. The girl in there doesn't like me." Avalon backed up, and backed into spike. She turned around and looked at him. She could feel how muscled his chest was. Wow, she thought, gramm's had good taste.  
  
" Don't worry love, The big bad's here to protect ya. " Spike replied.  
  
He liked her look. Her smile was magic. And this one didn't seem to want to hurt him. Not like the slayer. Yes, this one would do, for awhile, until buffy came around.  
  
" Spike, what would you protect her from? Evil water? Come on, it'll be fine." Buffy said and she opened the door. The shop was empty except for the scoobies. Willow looked up and was surprised to see buffy with the demon girl.  
  
" Hey buffy. What's up? Who's your friend?" Willow eyed the girl. Anya had went crazy for an hour after the girl left, scared that she would come back and flame Xander.  
  
" This is Avalon. You will all be nice to her. She's ok." Buffy looked at anya.  
  
" So, tell me what are you and how are you." Buffy stretched out on a chair and looked at the girl.  
  
" Well, I'm only a quarter fire demon. It only happens when I'm very angry. I light people on fire and they're soul burns forever. My dad has always tried to bind the demon side, but ya know. It doesn't work. For a long time he thought maybe it missed me. IT was just my mom. She was a half, and she really liked the power. One night, she got mad at daddy and tried to burn him. I got her first and my father banished her." Avalon sat on a cushion and thought for a moment. She had tears running down her cheeks. Spike handed her a tissue.  
  
" So, where did she go?" Anya asked. She came from the teapot with a cup for Avalon. She really wanted the answer to that question.  
  
" She's in Portland. In a sanatarium. The demon part was locked in her head, so she's pretty much comatose. But as long as I avoid burning humans, I'm ok. So I hunt vamps. But don't worry, you're the slayer, and I do not want your job. The only reason I was out there was William. I was waiting for him." Avalon smiled at spike.  
  
" Spike! Are you sure?" Xander was choking on his coffee.  
  
Spike puffed his chest out a bit.  
  
" Ah! A woman with taste." He smiled at her again.  
  
" Ok! Enough of the unholy dating game. So your not here to make trouble?" Buffy was very intent.  
  
" No, my dad's a doctor, we just want to be normal. That's why I need those ice crystals. They keep my fire down to an ember." Avalon looked lost. Buffy felt torn between helping this girl and staking her for wanting spike.  
  
" Well, we can see what we can do to help you. I'll walk you home." Buffy stood but spike intervened.  
  
" I'll take the lady home. Nite all" He said and walked out the door. Avalon stood up.  
  
" Don't worry, we'll be fine. Thank for letting me talk. It's been awhile since I could tell anyone." Good night." Avalon left after spike.  
  
Buffy couldn't believe it. Spike liked that girl. What could she do?  
  
Spike walked next to Avalon for a moment then he took her in his arms.  
  
" Are you gonna scream now? Are you scared pet?" He whispered in her ear.  
  
" If I was, I would light your thighs on fire and show you I'm not to be toyed with." She kissed him. He couldn't believe how bad he wanted her. She was bright, sassy and wanted him back. He told her of his crypt near by and asked if she wanted to go there. She anxiously agreed. She had to know once and for all if he really was the end. If the prophecy was true, she would be free, and maybe, just maybe she could free her mother too.  
  
Spike held the door for her, and she seemed surprised. Now that they were alone, she seemed unsure. Maybe this was a mistake, spike thought. But as he watched her walk around his dwelling, he began to think she was just a little innocent. Maybe this kitten's never caught a mouse, he mused.  
  
Avalon walked over to a chair and tossed her jacket down. She was wearing a see through tee shirt in black and matching black bra. She fluffed her curls, and wandered around the crypt.  
  
" So, do you like living here?" She looked over her shoulder at him with piercing interest.  
  
" Would you like living here? It's a bleeding crypt! Really blondie, you should know better." He sauntered over to the fridge and removed a pouch of blood. He placed it in the microwave. She sat on the chair and smiled at him.  
  
" So, why were you waiting for me?" Spike heard the ding and opened the microwave. He shook the bag and began to drink. She sat across from him not looking disgusted but with no real interest in what he was doing at all.  
  
" I just wanted to see if the rumors are true. I wanted to see if the great William the Bloody was as beautiful as they said he was. And I wanted to see if you were really in love with the slayer." She trained her gaze on him with those dark eyes. He began to choke on his blood.  
  
" What? Who said I'm in love with the slayer? I'll Bloody well spike them!!" He jumped up and started to pace back and forth.  
  
" So it's true. You love her." Avalon stood up and grabbed her coat. She had small tears falling down her cheeks. It was over. She knew that if he really loved the slayer, she was done. There would be no hope for her or her mother. She walked toward the door.  
  
" Where're you going?" Spike noticed that he was raving to an empty chair. He ran to the door and just barely made it there before she did.  
  
" I need to go. There's nothing here for me." He stood in front of her and lifted her face up to meet his gaze.  
  
" I'm here, luv. Will that do?" He held her face in his hands. He felt the softness of her skin. How like fine Chinese silk her cheeks felt. He felt her body heat, and suddenly, he wanted her more than anything. Not just physically, but everything. Everything Buffy would never allow him to have. That warm body next to him, the smile when he woke up, the privilige of watching someone you love sleep. But this one might give him everything he needed and more.  
  
" I really have to go home now. Will you walk me?" She gazed up at him with pure eyes. There was no deceit there, no hints of regret in the morning.  
  
"Of course luv. My pleasure." They left the crypt and began to walk across the cemetery. It was a brisk night, but not real chilly. They walked along the street, just talking to one another. When they came to her house, he noticed that she lived across the street from Buffy. Damn slayer, will you ever be gone from me?  
  
" Well, this is my new home, for now. If I can manage not to fry anyone else." Avalon looked down for a moment. She found a small rock on the ground and began to kick it.  
  
" Looks lovely. Good neighborhood too. During the day. Stay in at night though, there are nasties about." He smiled at her.  
  
" Your one of the nasties, aren't you?" She poked him in the stomach. His body was like chiseled marble, hard, strong and smooth.  
  
" I am. The nastiest! So you better bar your doors, kitten." He wondered if she got his meaning.  
  
" I think your invited in anytime. So long as you don't try to eat me." She began to walk up the stairs. He stood at the bottom, looking up at her.  
  
" I might pet, but you might not mind so much, I'll only nibble. " She opened the door, and with a smile she stepped inside and closed the door. He stood for a long time, watching to see what light s came on, which room was hers. He could smell her scent still lingering on his coat.  
  
Avalon shut the door behind her and looked at all the boxes littered around the house. She hated the smell of cardboard. It was always the same, they moved and she unpacked. She went to school, and she unpacked. She was really tired of unpacking.  
  
" So, is it him?" Her father came around the corner from the kitchen. She jumped back and glared at him.  
  
" Damn Dad, you scared the daylights out of me! You know better than to do that! I could have roasted you!" She instantly regretted what she said. Her father's hurt eyes said it all.  
  
" Is it him? Is he really William the Bloody? Tell me the truth." The man looked old all of the sudden. Like he began to age in the moments since she walked in the door.  
  
" Yes he is. And dad, he's, well wonderful. Gramm's was right. He is the doorway to my salvation. And daddy, he really is sweet. There may be something there." She smiled and twisted a lock of her hair.  
  
" Avalon, Be careful. You only have journals to go on, and you could end up like your mother.. Please, I can't do that again! I can't lose my baby and my wife!" Her father threw down the towel he was holding and buried his face in his hands. Tears ran freely this time, because he could no longer control his emotions. Avalon went to her father as he slid down the wall to the floor. She put her arms around him.  
  
" Daddy, I'll be fine, and in the end, everything will work out just fine. You'll see. Trust me. Now, let's get some sleep. I'm too tired for words. " She smiled and began to walk up the stairs. Her father stopped her halfway up.  
  
" Avalon? "  
  
" Yes daddy?"  
  
" Nite sweetie. I love you." He said softly.  
  
" I love you too." She smiled.  
  
She went into her new room, and sat on the bed. What a day it had been! She was so tired! She pulled back the covers, took off her clothes and crawled into bed. She drifted into sleep thinking of William and his beautiful smile. 


	3. Kiss Kiss sweet pet

Chapter 3  
  
He had never felt this much indecision. He wanted to go in, he needed to go in. But what if she didn't really want him? What if she didn't mean the invitation? He couldn't take it anymore. He moved quickly, through the back door and then up the stairs. He smelled the air. Hmm, I can smell her father. He smelled like a hospital. The sterile scent of disinfectant, he hated it. It reminded him of that damn chip in his head. But there was something else. He smelled her. Moving silently, he opened her door. There she is, he thought. Her hair against the pillow, her body uncovered. She lay on her back, stretched out and breathing very softly. He could hardly catch his breath. Does she want me? He thought. Bloody well right she does, I'm William the bloody!  
  
He stepped over to the bed and knelt beside it. He ran his hand down her chest, feeling the silk of her skin. Spike wasn't sure if he could control himself. He leaned over her after a moment and hovered just above her face.  
  
" Are you going to kiss me, or just stand over me all night?" She opened her eyes and looked into his. He resisted the urge to jump back from her.  
  
" Well kitten, shall I?" He asked. She leaned up and kissed him softly at first, then with more intensity. He rolled on top of her, kissing her chest and neck. She then flipped him over and crawled on top of him. She could feel just how much he wanted her.  
  
She kissed him, and unbuckled his pants at the same time.  
  
" Your not wasting any time then, are ya luv?" He felt like giggling.  
  
" Less talking, more kissing." She silenced him with her mouth. He felt how warm she was, how deliciously warm. They moved as one being, She feeling the exquisite cold of his skin, he reveling in her heat. He wanted to stay like this forever. Feeling things he hadn't felt in years. He groaned and she began to shudder. All at once it felt like an explosion. He growled and she screamed. He couldn't move for a moment. It felt like his whole body was on fire. He slowly realized that something was on fire. His eyes grew huge and he began to say something when Avalon just hopped off the bed and grabbed a fire extinguisher. She sprayed the curtains and the desk and when the fire was out, she sat on the bed.  
  
" Sorry, that happens sometimes. It's the reason I'm not very popular in the date department." She grabbed a blanket and draped it over her figure.  
  
" I figured you a hot lover pet, but never that!" He sat up on the bed and buckled his pants. She sat at the foot of the bed and looked around the room for something to put on. She felt so vulnerable at the moment and she knew it was too soon. He would not love her now, she thought. It must be over.  
  
" What's over? And why would I not love you?" He looked at her and smiled.  
  
" It was too fast. You know it. And there's more. When you know, you won't want me. " She dropped her eyes and stood. If there were ever a moment he wanted another creature with wanton reckless abandon, it was this moment. She stood with the moonlight streaming through the window bouncing off her skin, making it glow. She turned her back to him and walked over to a box and pulled out some clothes. He watched her get dressed and wondered what she was thinking.  
  
" I was thinking that your very sweet and far too gentle to be as bad as everyone thinks you are." She turned around and walked to the bed." I was thinking that deep inside you, where no one else sees, you are scared and hurt and alone. Nobody understands, but I do, I'm hurt and alone too." She looked at him and smiled. He realized that she was hearing his thoughts.  
  
" How did you do that? That's not fair." He sounded so bloody whiney when he said that! What was wrong with him?  
  
" When you made love to me, you received part of my power, it will wear off. It's one other thing that made me unpopular. When you have sex with someone and you think, God, he was lame! And the guy hears you? you don't get a second date. But on the other hand, if you think that, do you want a second date?" She giggled.  
  
" How old are you?" He looked at her with amazement. She seemed as old as he was, yet, so young.  
  
" 21. Drinking age, although I don't drink. I tend to get real hot, and not in a good way!" She lay down on the bed, putting her head on his chest. For a moment, it seemed so normal. They looked like two normal lovers, curled up on a bed, but there was more. She needed him completely, and there was only one way for that to happen.  
  
" William? I want to give you something, but I need to know you feel something for me. Do you?" Avalon looked at him and gazed into his soul. Yes, he still had a soul, some part of humanity still in him that made him love. The thing that drove him crazy for buffy, wild for dru, that same thing that made him protect dawn. It was there that she had to be, or it wouldn't work. And she saw what she needed, her face with the others, a part of his love forever.  
  
" I love you, and I need you. I just want to be needed back." He looked almost hurt by this statement he made.  
  
" Then shut your eyes for a moment." He did and Avalon removed an exacto knife from her purse by the bed. She pressed the blade to her throat then made a small cut. She grabbed his hand suddenly.  
  
" Now, drink! Do it quickly!" Spike opened his eyes then and saw what she did. At first he didn't know what to do. She was bleeding, and he was hungry, but how could he?  
  
" I… I can't love, it's wrong!" He looked at the blood running down her neck and soaking into her shirt.  
  
" If you don't do it soon, it will be too late! Please!" And with that, he bent in and began to drink. Slow at first, then a bit faster, making sure she wasn't going to die on him. He was so wrapped up in the taste of her that he hardly noticed the chanting she was doing. When she finished speaking, he pulled away, not sure what was happening.  
  
A bright light pulled out of her chest. It looked like a fireball but it had a female face on it. Spike backed away, but it slammed into him like a train, pushing him into the wall behind the bed. For a moment he thought he was on fire, but he realized, he was not. He looked at Avalon, who was sitting on the side of the bed now, away from him.  
  
" What did you do? What did you do to me?" He sounded so angry.  
  
" I made you better. I had to make you love me or it wouldn't have worked, and I would have died. You're not just a vampire now, you have my demon side. You can light fires by will, read others thoughts with frightening clarity, and most of all, you can hunt again. The chip in your head wasn't designed to handle this, I know." She reached out to touch him, but he pulled away.  
  
" What are you saying? Have ya gone all soft in the head? What do you know about the chip in my head?" He stood now, prepared to run if necessary.  
  
" My father used to work for the government. He helped build your chip. Your new powers override it. He made those chips for me, and others like me. They were meant to make me not start fires. He put on in my mom, but it didn't work, and now, she's crazy. Locked inside her own head. But you see, my grandmother figured out a way to transfer the power, not to a human but to a vampire. Something like a demon, but still different. And love is the key. You loved me, at least for a few minutes, and that freed me. It also made you viable again." She stood up and walked to the bedroom door.  
  
" You can go if you want to, try it out, I'll understand if you don't come back." She opened the door and looked at him.  
  
" I don't think I believe you, but I will be back. And I still love you kitten. I just need a bit of alone time." With that he swept out of the room. Avalon slid to the floor and began to cry. She would live the rest of her life a normal girl, but she would never love again like she loved him.  
  
Spike stopped at the front door. He heard her sobs. Up the stairs to comfort her or out the door? A moment later the door closed and he was out of the house and into the night. 


	4. firestarter

Chapter 4  
  
Buffy lay on her bed, thinking of spike. What was he doing? And what was wrong with that girl? Was she totally crazy? No one loves a vampire, at least not sane people. She must be one lonely girl. Buffy sighed and rolled over. She had to admit to herself that she was jealous. ARGH! Why did he get to me so much? Maybe she just had a case of long-term food poisoning! Yes! That was it. She got up and went to the window. She could feel the cool breeze coming through the curtains and for a moment she thought about his lips. How soft they are, how gentle they could be.  
  
"He's not out there, you know. You know where he is, and you can't stand that."  
  
Buffy jumped and spun around to see willow standing in the doorway.  
  
"Will! You scared me! And who are you talking about? I know Riley isn't out there…" Buffy turned from the window and sat on the bed.  
  
"Not Riley, Spike. I saw the way you acted with those two, and Buffy, You are a Slayer in love. You just won't admit it." Willow stepped into the room.  
  
"A slayer in love, with spike! Your losing' it will!" Buffy began to fidget with the comforter.  
  
"See! You're fidgeting! You are in love with him! I knew it! Well, not in the sense that I saw it coming or it's not totally Wiggin me out, but I knew it!" Willow smiled brightly.  
  
"Ok, I'm going to bed. I have had enough of Spike, Avalon and the whole thing. What ever happened to the good old days when Spike was bad, and the world made sense?" Buffy stretched out on her stomach and willow turned and walked out of the room, leaving Buffy to doze and ponder spike. Willow wandered into her room and shut at the door. She heard something behind it and jumped as spike moved out of the shadows.  
  
"What are doing in here?" She asked.  
  
"We need to talk red. I need your help." Spike looked almost scared as he paced the carpet in her room.  
  
"What do need? Are you scared?" Willow almost couldn't believe what she was seeing.  
  
"What do you know of fire demons? What do they do?" Spike sat on the end of her bed and took out a cigarette.  
  
"Well, they can cause hellfire, oh and they can also light fire with thoughts. Good at campouts!" She saw the look of disgust on his face and apologized.  
  
"Sorry. Why do you ask?" Willow went to open the window so spike could smoke. She could sense something was wrong.  
  
"Watch. " He held out his cigarette in front of him and suddenly it burst into flame. He dropped it and stamped it out on the carpet.  
  
"Whoa! How did you do that?" Willow asked.  
  
"That girl! She did it to me! One minute were rolling around, the next, poof! I'm a vampiric Zippo!" Spike starred at the carpet and the burn holes in it from his little experiment.  
  
"What am I gonna do? No Vamp has ever had this happen, have they?" He looked so lost, willow felt sorry for him.  
  
"We tell Buffy." Willow said, and with that she walked out the door and into Buffy's room.  
  
As he figured, Buffy did not take the news well. He remembered something dawn said about letting sleeping slayers lay, but never understood until now.  
  
Willow sat on the bed and explained what had happened, when Buffy cam off the bed and across the room so fast, even spike was impressed with her speed.  
  
"You did what? Are you completely stupid? God, all that peroxide must have bleached your brain!" Buffy had knocked him into the hallway and was pounding on him. Spike hit her back and threw her off of him and onto her bedroom floor.  
  
"Ok, Peace now! Before anyone gets hurt or maimed! Buffy, Spike came for help, not a beating, right?" Willow, ever calm, looked at spike and raised an eyebrow. She had always suspected that spike liked his beatings a bit too much.  
  
Buffy got off the floor and sat on the bed. This was too much. He slept with her. He held that girl in his arms, and kissed her, and ugh! She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to admit she was jealous.  
  
Spike stood and fixed his eyes on the Slayer. He heard her thoughts and acquired a large grin on his face. Buffy, jealous? Maybe this was going to be a good day after all.  
  
"Ok, we'll do some research, and get back to you. In the mean time, stay away from that girl!" Buffy looked at spike with a mixture of anger and jealousy.  
  
"Fine, let me know when you've got something." Spike said nonchalantly, and as he turned to go, glanced around the room, and lit all of Buffy's candles with a single thought. With that, he was gone.  
  
Buffy and Willow looked around the room in amazement.  
  
"Wow" willow said" That would make ritual so much easier." Buffy pushed willow and she just smiled impishly. But inside she had a bad feeling. 


	5. desperate measures

Chapter 5  
  
Avalon had never felt so free. Every night Spike was at the door. Sometimes with flowers, sometimes a fine bottle of wine. He even brought her father a box of Cuban cigars. She felt normal for the first time. They had been together for months now. Every day was a new experience for her. She got better at using her powers, and Spike helped her use them for something other than frying guys she didn't like. Every day she waited for it not to happen, but it always did. It seemed to be getting stronger.  
  
Spike was having the time of his undead life. He finally understood the bonds of love. The difference between loving someone who won't love you and loving someone who would always love you. With Avalon, he had what he always wanted with Buffy. A woman that didn't look at him with lust and disgust, only soft caring eyes and a bottomless soul. He knew he still loved Buffy though, and he doubted anything would change that. But this girl gave him something the slayer would not, salvation.  
  
When the phone rang, Dr. Styles knew he shouldn't answer it. That feeling in his stomach that he blamed the tuna salad for, was now so heavy, he thought it might make him pass out.  
  
"Dr. Styles here."  
  
"Did she find him?" the voice on the phone said.  
  
"Yes, but It's done. We don't have to do this to her. Please! She's all I have!"  
  
"You knew our deal. And unless you want your wife to die, you will put that chip in her head soon, or she won't be the only thing you lose. Are we clear?"  
  
"Yes but her tests came back, and she might not survive the surgery! Her abilities have made her heart weak, and every time she used them she got weaker! This might kill her!" Martin began to cry. He was so helpless now; he didn't know what to do.  
  
"Soon. Do it. Goodbye." He sat until he heard dial tone. He knew there was nothing he could do. He also knew that the transfer spell wouldn't take away from his daughter's powers either. It only made her stronger. He had no choice. He dialed a number and waited for a response.  
  
"Pick her up. At the magic box. We do it now." He hung up the phone and sat starring at a blank wall in his office. He knew his life was over.  
  
Anya and Willow sat at a table looking through books while spike and Avalon light candles from across the room. They giggled the whole time and Buffy thought she was gonna vomit.  
  
"It says here that the spell will transfer some power, but it will make the demon stronger with each try. So it looks like your still gonna have the power Avalon." Willow said.  
  
"I don't understand. It was supposed to make me normal. I want to be normal! I wanna have kids, and a dog, and a mortgage!" She broke down and began to cry, burying her head in spikes chest. Spike on the other-hand, began to like his new power.  
  
"You will be normal luv, if anyone can help, it's these guys. Right guys?"  
  
"Spike can I talk to you?" Buffy had had enough of his sweet boyfriend crap.  
  
They walked into her training room where Buffy snapped.  
  
"What are you doing to that girl! You can't give her anything, and it's wrong, acting like you love her!"  
  
Spike smiled widely. "You're jealous! You little tart! You pushed me away and now you want a lil' bit o' the spike!" He starred into her eyes.  
  
"What! Please! I don't want a little bit of anything from you! But she's gonna get hurt. "Buffy said.  
  
"Look slayer, I love her." He said simply.  
  
"You can't love her. You don't have a soul."  
  
"Maybe you don't need one for love, maybe she makes me feel whole again. She looks at me like I'm the best in the world. The way you looked at angelus or the little soldier boy. Why shouldn't someone love me? Huh? What's wrong with William the bloody getting some affection?" Spike was hurt, and Buffy wanted to hold him in that moment. She understood his loneliness, she felt the same thing. She was about to rebuff what he said when the crash and the scream came. Spike and Buffy ran into the store just in time to see men in black hooded suits grab Avalon and drag her from the store. Spike tried to light them up, but the suits were flame resistant and the men got away before anyone could stop them. All but one, crying on the floor in front of willow.  
  
"Eetay, salumente, brevarum!" Willow glared at him and he began to twitch and shake with pain.  
  
"Will, stop! We need him." Buffy placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and all at once, the man was free from her spell. Buffy knelt down in front of him.  
  
"Where did they take her?"  
  
"I can't. They'll kill me!" He blubbered. Buffy could almost smell his fear.  
  
"Who took her? Tell me!" Buffy shook him.  
  
"I can't say! But they took her to Sunnydale Regional hospital. If you want to save her, you better move." The man pushed Buffy back and got to his feet. She started to say something, but he ran out the door and disappeared down the street.  
  
"Let's go. We don't have much time." Buffy got some weapons from the back.  
  
"I'll meet you there." Spike said. He felt his heart breaking." Slayer! Save her?" Buffy looked at Spike and almost cried. He loved this girl, and Buffy loved him.  
  
"I will." She looked at him and hoped she could fulfill her promise. 


	6. broken matches

Avalon was sleepy. And everything she looked at looked hazy. So this is what it's like to get high? She thought. She tried to sit up but couldn't. She slowly realized she was strapped down to a table. She began to come around more and remembered what happened. She had been in the magic box talking with Xander and Anya, when these men came in and pop! She had a dart in the ass. Why on earth did they shoot her there? And where was she? Boy Avalon, you've really done it this time! She lifted her head up and looked around. She was in an operating room. Suddenly the door opened up and a woman walked in.  
  
"What's going on here? Where am I?" The woman came over to the table and smiled at Avalon.  
  
"We're going to make you docile, honey. No more fires or reading thoughts, just a normal happy life. Won't that be nice?" The woman had red hair and was wearing scrubs.  
  
"What do you mean? I feel fine. What is that? "Avalon looked at the tray the woman was preparing. She was overcome by horror. On the center of the tray was a tiny piece of plastic and metal.  
  
"Honey, this will be a lot easier if you don't fight. I need to give you a shot, and don't try your powers, or you'll be in big trouble." Avalon struggled but to no avail. She looked up and saw small lasers pointed at her chest and head. She understood what the lady meant. The woman jabbed a needle in her arm and she felt this rush of pain up her arm. All of the sudden, she felt like she couldn't breathe. She gasped and struggled against the leather straps, but soon she fell into darkness.  
  
"That's a good girl. You lay her and soon your dad will make you just like your mom!" The woman smiles, but it was the most chilling smile Avalon ever saw. All through the sewers he thought of her. Why did this have to happen? Why now? He knew he had to save her, but for the unlife of him, he had no idea how. Buffy would know, she always had the answer. Again, it all comes down to Buffy.  
  
Spike met Buffy in the hallway of the hospital. He had been crying, she thought.  
  
"Where do you think they took her spike?" Buffy looked at him.  
  
"I don't know. She's here, I sense her. It's like part of me is lost, I just can't find it." He looked up and down the hall. Spike closed his eyes and thought of her. He saw the room she was in, the table she was strapped to, and a man cutting her head open. His eyes went wide with fear.  
  
"Buffy, they're cutting her open! Her head! This way!" Spike ran down the hall and began to make his way to the surgical ward. He was stopped by armed military guards.  
  
"State your business." The guard said.  
  
"Get out of my way! Their killing her! "Spike tried to hit the man but the pain in his head prevented him. Then he heard a buzzing in his ears. The buzz became a roar and he blacked out.  
  
Buffy didn't know what to do. Knocking out the guards was easy, but getting spike to wake up was something else. And she knew they were running out of time.  
  
"Spike! Dammit wake up! "Buffy shook him and he came to.  
  
"Avalon…." He moaned.  
  
"We have to go, she's in trouble!" Buffy helped him to his feet, and they went through the doors into the operating room.  
  
Dr. Styles was just bringing her around when they burst in the room. Spike threw him across the room, where he hit a wall and fell. A nurse lunged at Buffy but fell with one hit from Buffy's slayer punch. Spike ran to the table and un-strapped Avalon. She opened her eyes.  
  
"William? " She whispered.  
  
"Yes luv, I'm here. It'll be all right. We're gonna get you out of here." Spike picked her up and held her to his chest. Then he heard the heart monitor.  
  
"Don't blame daddy. They made him. And William? "She was fading fast, and he could feel it.  
  
"Yes pet?" Tears blurred his vision.  
  
"I love you. Wholly and completely. She loves you too. I'll always be with you." Avalon took a deep breath and the monitor flat lined.  
  
Buffy was in shock. This sweet girl just died, her father caused it, and Spike was in total agony. He held her body to him and screamed. The scream of the damned, the wail of loss. A nurse tried to take Avalon from him but he vamped out and killed her. Buffy heard the crack of the woman's neck and was stunned to see spike hurt someone who was human. He lifted Avalon's body off the table and wailed again. The walls began to shake and glass shattered everywhere. Dr. Styles stood and was crying. He reached out to touch his daughter, but spike growled at him.  
  
"Don't you touch her! You killed her! I should rip your black heart out of your chest!" Spike yelled. Buffy moved in between the two men.  
  
"Spike! He can't hurt her anymore. Put her down. There's nothing we can do." Buffy's heart was breaking. She could feel his pain.  
  
"I'm taking her. You can all just Sod off!" With that, he ran out of the room, leaving Buffy and the Dr. Stunned and crying. 


	7. Prodigal Son

Buffy sat on her back porch watching the sun go down. As the sky turned pink, then red, then began to fade into the blues and purples of the nightfall, she wondered where he was. It had been four months since the night Avalon died. Four long months since she had seen Spike. She wondered if he knew what had happened after he left with the young girls' body. Her father couldn't live with himself and had committed suicide a month after the incident. The note Buffy had found on him had simply said "Forgive Me." She tried to stop him, there had been enough death already, but she had been too late. She had willow and Tara do a spell to release his spirit, and after that, she felt peace. But Spike was her main concern. The chip was gone. Something in it had malfunctioned, that much she knew. So where did that leave her? She loved him and he fell in love with another. She knew whose fault that was. All Her. She was so wrapped up in her own guilt she didn't notice the dark figure behind the tree. She wiped away the tears on her cheeks and smelled a faint scent of cigarette smoke on the breeze.  
  
"Spike?" Buffy said in almost a whisper.  
  
"Yes luv?" He came around the tree into the light of the porch. She saw he had been roughed up and he was very dirty.  
  
She jumped up and rushed up to him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him in a slayer's embrace.  
  
"Spike! Oh god! I missed you! Are you ok?" Buffy held on to him and slowly, she found his arms around her too.  
  
"I'll live. Why are you crying?" Buffy pulled slightly back from him and looked into his eyes. They were the same eyes she had been starring into for years. They looked the same, except they had a deep pain in them that she had always tried not to see. The pain of unreturned love and loss.  
  
"You. I wasn't fair to you. I treated you like some toy, like you weren't capable of love, but you were. I wasn't. I couldn't love you until it was too late. If I had, maybe none of this would have happened..." A sob cut her off. Spike lifted her face up to meet hers. Without a word, he kissed her. For the first time in months, he felt almost whole again. The pain he felt for Avalon had been compounded by the pain he felt for Buffy.  
  
"Where did you go? What happened?" Buffy took a step back and looked at her love. Cuts and bruises covered his body. His shirt was nothing more than a rag hanging on his shoulders.  
  
"I need a shower and rest, and then I'll tell you everything." Spike ran a finger along Buffy's cheek, catching a tear on the tip as he did so.  
  
"Ok. Come in and we'll talk." Buffy took his hand and led him into the house. Spike went upstairs into the bathroom and she went into her room. Buffy opened the closet and removed a box. She opened it on the bed, taking out a black tee shirt and a pair of black jeans. She pulled out a bleach kit and some cologne, the scent he wore. Buffy looked at the clothes for a moment, wondering if things would ever be the same. She carried them to the bathroom door and paused. Biting her lower lip, she felt like she shouldn't open the door, he wasn't hers anymore. No, she thought, he came back to me, He came back for me. She opened the door and walked into the bathroom.  
  
Hot water always made him feel human. He could turn it on full blast and then for a while it warmed his body temp enough to feel like a man. You really did it this time spike! William raged in his mind. You came crawling back to the one that doesn't want you! You're pathetic! Spike shook his head and growled. This was almost too much. What Buffy said, his loss of another love, the chip being gone. For once, spike had no idea what to do next. But he knew that he needed Buffy. It was her, always her.  
  
She heard the water turn off and the shower curtain open. Spike looked a little surprised to see her there, with what looked like his clothes in her hands. He smiled at her, water dripping off his body.  
  
"I had some of your things. Oh, and I got you a bleach kit, if you want to do your hair later." Buffy thought she sounded very lame at that moment.  
  
"Thanks pet, could you hand me a towel?" Spike leered at her with those eyes. They went through her to her soul.  
  
"Ah, yeah! Towel." She set the clothes on the counter and grabbed a towel from the back of the toilet. She smelled the snuggle fabric softener on it. She couldn't drag her eyes off his naked form.  
  
She handed him the towel and he pulled her close to him.  
  
"I need to feel you. I need to know you want me. Do you want me?" He looked intense and Buffy felt how hard and smooth his body was. She could smell the soap on his skin and at that moment, she didn't care about anything but him. Buffy kissed spike with such force that he hit the back of the bathtub. She picked him up and carried him into her room, kicking the door closed behind her. She tossed him on the bed, crawling on top of him. He began to say something but Buffy placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. She was going to heal him, the only way she knew how. 


	8. Truth be told

Sorry this took so long, but writer's block and life had their nasty little way with me, but I finally figured out where this was going. Read on and let me know if you think this is working.  
  
Buffy kissed him with such ferocity that he thought he would explode. But that nagging voice in his head would not stop. He had to tell her everything, well, almost everything.  
  
"Buffy, I need to talk to you" Spike lifted his head and looked down on the top of hers.  
  
"No talking. I'm busy." She buried her head in his lap. Spike pulled her up and pushed her off of him.  
  
"Slayer! I need to talk to you! Now!" He got off the bed and began pacing around the room. Buffy was confused. What was happening? She thought, well she figured that sex would make everything better. Isn't that the way you say I'm sorry to a guy?  
  
"I have to tell you what happened. Then you decide if you want me." He picked up the towel and went for his clothes. Best not to do this one commando, he thought.  
  
Spike walked back into Buffy's room and noticed she too had donned jeans and a sweatshirt. She sat in the middle of the bed and hugged her knees. She knew this was not going to be a good talk.  
  
"Ok, so talk. What happened?" Buffy didn't want to know. She never wanted to know.  
  
Spike lit a smoke and walked to the window. He opened it and sat down. He had nothing left but his story.  
  
"When I left, I took her to a guy I used to know. Down in Brazil, he lives in Rio. He brings things back. Not people, mind you, but demons, vamps. Bloody well good at what he does, I'll tell ya. But he said it was too late. She was too human. I ranted and screamed that I'd kill him if he didn't try. The bloody bastard just smiled. He'd try. But he wanted a challenge. So, after he attempted to bring her back" Spike put out his cigarette and lit another one. Buffy noticed tears running down his cheeks. "He wanted my end of the bargain." Spike looked at her with sad eyes.  
  
"What did he want?" Buffy moved slowly over to the window to stand by him.  
  
"He wanted Dawn. He brought Avalon back all right. Right down to her flame throwing power. She sat up, looked at me and cried. She was so happy. Then he said I was to bring him the key. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't give this wanker nibblet, but there she was alive and in front of me. She made the decision for me. She hugged me, kissed me and told me to kill her. Then the bargain was broken. So, I had to watch her die all over again. I gave her up for you, for lil'bit. For all of you." Spike broke down then. Buffy held him as he wept into her stomach. She finally understood what that girl saw in him. And why she was so important to him, and Buffy. A woman she never really tried to know gave herself for dawn. And gave Buffy her lover back.  
  
"Buffy, I have to tell you one other thing. The chip? It's gone. It went bonkers and I don't want it back. But if it means you, I'll do it. I have no other way to show you I need you." He looked up at her. Blood tears had stained his face and her shirt.  
  
"I trust you. No live kills. You know the rules." She said as she took her shirt off.  
  
"And Spike?" He looked at her as she undressed. What a bloody amazing woman she was.  
  
"Yes pet?" He rose and removed his clothes.  
  
"I love you Spike. William the Bloody. I love you."  
  
"Well bloody hell slayer, why didn't you say so?"  
  
Buffy turned out the light. Late that night, Dawn and willow ran into the hall after hearing screaming coming from Buffy's room. When they heard a very loud British "GOD SLAYER!" They both smiled and went back to bed. Everything was back to normal. As normal as Sunnydale could be. 


	9. Epilogue

Two Years Later  
  
The sun had just set on Revello Drive. Willow was finishing dinner as Buffy and Dawn set the table. Spike had just finished opening a box he had received from A medieval weapons company, and was chasing Xander around the living room with a very nasty looking dagger. The scenes from outside the window showed a very strange, but loving family. Buffy had stepped out on the porch and lit a few candles on the porch.  
  
" What are doing?" Tara came from the front door.  
  
"Just lighting a few candles for Avalon. Two years today….." Buffy looked off into the distance.  
  
" Yeah. She loved him a lot. Didn't she?" Tara had a way to see into the true hearts of people.  
  
"Yeah. In the end she gave it all up for Dawn. For all of us, I guess."  
  
"Buffy, you're not the only person in the world that would do that. Sacrifice themselves to save others. She was one of those people."  
  
Buffy looked at Tara for a moment then at the tree lined street.  
  
"I know. It kinda gives me hope for the world."  
  
"Dinners ready." Tara smiled then went back inside. Buffy looked at the darkness surrounding the street, and smiled.  
  
"Thanks Avalon. Wherever you are." She turned and started to open the front door. With Slayer hearing she heard "Take care of him" and turned, but saw nothing.  
  
She smiled.  
  
"I will." She entered the house and sat down to dinner with her family.  
  
The Blonde walked quickly across the cemetery. She had a purpose. She slowed down when she saw the older woman, so much like her.  
  
"Did you find it?" Avalon asked her mother.  
  
"Yes. The stone is lovely. He would have loved it. Did you see him?" Mariska Styles looked at her daughter. Every moment she saw her she was reminded how much the girl moved like her father.  
  
"Through the window. He's happy. And she loves him. He's whole again. A man. That was all I wanted." Avalon felt a lone tear fall. She had done what was right for William, Buffy, All of them. If only she had been back in time.  
  
"Momma? Do you think he forgave himself?"  
  
"I think so. He couldn't make science change nature. But I forgive him. And you do too. That is all we can ask for. Now, shall we avenge him?" Mariska stood to an impressive 6'1. She appeared to be the ultimate Nordic blonde.  
  
"I want those government bastards to pay for what they did to him, me, William. They have to be stopped."  
  
Mariska pulled her coat closer to her and looked at her daughter. All those years, lost in her own mind, lost in a drug haze, she never forgot her child. Now, she was free.  
  
"Off we go. Who do we seek out first?"  
  
"Riley Finn. He, well, let's just say he was special to the project. Besides, I owe it to someone."  
  
The two women walked off towards a waiting taxi.  
  
"I'm coming Riley. Spike sends his regards."  
  
They disappeared into the night. 


End file.
